Couran Cove Island Resort goes for a song

Private equity firm General Atlantic Corporation and its founder, secretive billionaire Charles Feeney, are expected to walk away with a fraction of their $30 million investment in Couran Cove Island Resort on South Stradbroke Island in Queensland.

Ferrier Hodgson liquidators Will Colwell filed a notice with the corporate regulator declaring a dividend would be paid to the ultimate holding company, Couran Cove Asset Holdings, which owned the resort’s 358 accommodation units.

However, reports are surfacing that Brisbane businessman Craig Dowling has bought the resort for less than $10 million.

The resort made a loss of $85.9 million in the year to February 2011 and recent filings with the corporate regulator show that there were $1.5 million in outgoings in the first five months of this year.

The five companies associated with the resort, which covers 151 hectares, were placed into voluntary liquidation last year.